Trials and Tribulations of Love
by Golden Skies
Summary: Inuyasha promises Kikyo that when the Tama is complete he will wish that Onigumo had died in the fire. When he finally learns to admit to himself that he loves Kagome, will he still make the wish, or will he even have the chance?
1. Bring Me to Life

:: Golden Skies: So, this may look a tad familiar to some of you. I took down Trials and Tribulations of Love and now I'm reposting without the song lyrics. I will also making the chapters shorter so they will be quicker to read and to get out. I'm in college now, at JMU, but I should definitely be able to post more often than I was before, which was not very often. I do already have the story line planned out so I'll I need is time and motivation. Oh yeah! Please Review!! And now for the disclaimer

:: SilverWaters pops in, with the intention of causing chaos:: Hey People! Yo, Golden Skies! Watcha doin?

:: Golden Skies:: Well, I WAS trying to write the disclaimer!

:: SilverWaters:: Oh, that's nice...so, what are you planning to do tomorr- :: Inuyasha suddenly appears:: OH MY GOD! MINE!!! :: dives for Inu::

::Golden Skies sees Inuyasha:: What am I doing tomorrow? :: Grabs Inuyasha's hand and pulls him away from SilverWaters causing her to fall on her face:: Well, I'm gonna have some fun!!

::SilverWaters:: Damn you! Damn you to HELL! ::Begins wailing:: I want Inuyasha Wahh! ::Fluffy-chan appears, wondering how he ended up here:: Ummm...Sky-chan...look who's here.

:: Golden Skies pushes an unexpecting Inuyasha to the side and runs slow-mo into Sess's arms:: See ya'll lata! ::she drags Sesshoumaru off::

:: SilverWaters:: 0o well, I should have been expecting that...anyway ::Sees Inu-chan standing all by his lonesome:: Inu-chan! ::Golmp::

:: Inuyasha:: What the Fuck!?! 0o;; ::tries to shake Silver off::

:: Silver holds on tight and starts to drag Inu of despite his protests:: Well, since Sky-chan and I will be busy for a while, we will let you guys get on with the story. Bye Now!!

:: Golden Skies sticks her head out of a hotel room window, hair slightly ruffled:: Oh yeah, the disclaimer, umm yeah, I don't own Inuyasha and co., I just umm borrow Sesshoumaru from time to time...yeah. ::Gets pulled back through window, window shuts, screen gets pulled down::

::Off in the distance a shout is heard::

"Silver get the hell out! This room is already taken!"

"OOPS! Sorry! Come on Inu, we'll try down the hall!"

"Oh Kami-sama! Someone help me!"

:: A door slams and all is quiet::

Trials and Tribulations of Love

Chapter 1

Bring Me to Life

("" Speech, italics thought)

There she was, stuck in the last place she wanted to be, with the person she resented the most. _Well I guess being in Sesshoumaru's dungeon with Jakken could be worse, _she thought bitterly.

Kagome had been taking a walk through the woods trying to think of how she was going to ask Inuyasha if she could go home for a few days, she hadn't been home in nearly two months. _Everybody's probably worried. Doesn't he understand that I have a life too? He probably doesn't even care. Why does he have to be such an ass all the time?! _

The wind whispered through the trees and the clouds floated overhead creating a peaceful scene. It had turned out to be a beautiful day and Kagome had decided to take advantage of it to contemplate her dilemma. However, no matter how much the sun shined or the birds sang nothing could seem to penetrate her gloomy mood.

"Well, I'm just gonna tell him I'm going and if he says 'no,' I know just how to change his mind," she commented to nobody in particular. _I love that rosary, _Kagome thought with a little smirk.

Suddenly, the wind stilled and silence was the only thing to be heard. _This can't be good, _Kagome thought. Cold shivers began running up and down her spine. _What's going on? _

"Hello, my reincarnate," came a cold voice from about twenty feet ahead of her. As Kagome looked around the small clearing, her gaze traveled to a rather large tree, where she saw Kikyo standing.

_Well damn, _Kagome thought to herself, _why can't I ever just take a peaceful walk without ending up physically or emotionally scathed?_

Kagome stared at Kikyo, acknowledging her presence, but not that she had said anything.

"Where is my Inuyasha?" Kikyo asked her in a cold flat voice. Only a very small presence of the loving warmth that was there fifty-four years ago could now be detected.

"Your Inuyasha?" Kagome inquired, a bit peeved at having her thinking time interrupted.

Kikyo just responded with a nod.

"You want to know where YOUR Inuyasha is?" Kagome questioned with her anger becoming obvious. "Well, ya know what, I'm already pissed, so I'm gonna let you in a bit of inside information," she said staking towards Kikyo, her determination and anger flaring.

Kikyo was listening intently. _Maybe this little bitch knows something I don't, but it had better be well worth my time. _Even though her mind was spinning with possibilities, her heartless mask remained in place. She watched as Kagome approached her. _She is either very brave, or very stupid, _Kikyo thought.

"Your Inuyasha," Kagome continued, when she had gotten close enough, "died the same day you did more than fifty years ago. Inuyasha isn't the same person he was, he's changed now," Kagome's voice calmed and softened a bit, "he doesn't rely on you anymore; he doesn't need you to function." _He has me; maybe he can be happy with that. _Kagome realized she was trying to convince herself, just as much as she was trying to convince Kikyo, and she mentally slapped herself for it, but she'd deal with that later.

When Kikyo didn't respond, Kagome fumed and kept going, "The only reason he's still bound to you," she continued pointing her finger at Kikyo, her aura flaring a bit, "is that damn promise." _He promised me the same thing. Inuyasha, you can't fulfill both._

In the distance, a rustle was heard, and right away Kikyo sensed who was approaching. "Hush bitch, he's coming," Kikyo stated and with that she threw her hand forward and several of her Shikigami flew out from behind her and tied Kagome to the nearby tree.

"Inuyasha can't hear you, can't see you, nor can he smell you, girl, so just sit back and watch me prove how wrong you are."

Kagome was in shock. Her eyes were showing anger and a hint of premature defeat. She wanted so much to get a hold of her arrows and blast that bitch back to hell where she belonged, but that was impossible to do in her current situation.

Kikyo looked at her reincarnation, victory evident in her gaze. Her solid mask cracking as the ends of her mouth curled up into a superior smirk. They really did look alike, same ebony locks, same deep chocolate eyes, but Kagome's face held something that Kikyo's had lost a long time ago: innocence and love. That was reason enough for Kikyo to hate her; now, add Inuyasha to the picture

Less than a minute later, Inuyasha walked into the clearing, his face showing concern and worry. His chest was heaving and his long silver mane was windblown. _I could have sworn I smelt both Kagome and Kikyo. _Inuyasha glanced around the clearing, trying to detect Kagome, but all traces were gone. His thoughts were cut short as Kikyo outstretched her hand and motioned for him to come to her. He stepped forward, his silver tresses swaying behind him in the slight breeze.

Almost as if he were in a trance, Inuyasha took the delicate hand in his and put it on his chest, over his heart. Inuyasha looked deeply into Kikyo's eyes and then bowed his head, almost shamefully; instinctively knowing what it was Kikyo wanted, Inuyasha gave her his response. "Kikyo, I cannot go with you to hell now, I have too much to finish," his voice dropped as he said his next sentence, unsure, himself, if he wanted to go on. "I will keep my promise, but I must finish all that is currently undone."

"My Inuyasha, you always did know what I was thinking, but I never could say the same about you."

Inuyasha didn't know how to respond; he just bowed his head more and pulled her a little closer. His arms wrapped around her protectively, while Kikyo rested her head on his chest, gripping the sleeves of his haori. He had always loved the way her small frame fit into his taller solid one. _Feels a lot like holding Kagome, only colder. No, it's because she's Kikyo's reincarnation. I have the real thing now._

"No, Inuyasha, don't prove me wrong, please!" cried Kagome in a desperate pleading attempt to save herself from having to watch this scene unfold. She didn't want to admit to herself what was happening, and she didn't want to admit that she knew he still loved Kikyo. Tears began to form in her eyes, tears that came despite her attempts to hold them at bay.

"Inuyasha you could see through me then and you can see through me now," Kikyo said calmly. "It hurts to know that you know who I am. We both know that this form is not me."

"Inuyasha," Kikyo began again, "You don't have to come with me to hell." The finality in her words made Inuyasha lift his head just a bit and perk his ears up slightly. "We can live here, on earth, like we meant to, when the Shikon no Tama is complete, you can wish for me to be alive again. Then, mind, body, and soul, I will be real and-and I'll be me. We can be happy." Kikyo held Inuyasha tighter. Not seeming to ever want to let go.

Inuyasha, with emotions running high, was speechless; he just looked Kikyo in the eyes, trying to find an answer within himself.

"But" he began.

"Inuyasha, please, I need to be me again."

"I don't want to live like this anymore, I'm clay and bones and my soul is trying to leave me," she stole a glance at Kagome, who looked horrified, betrayed, and lost as she fought a losing battle to hold back tears, "I need you to complete the Tama and save me."

"Kikyo, I love you," he said, pulling her closer, "and I would love to make you real, but if you have your soul, then Kagome loses hers," Inuyasha remarked in a soothing voice.

"It's not hers," Kikyo snapped.

Inuyasha winced. _Kagome is not Kikyo, but her soul is Kikyo's. Wait, no it isn't. It's her own, but it was once Kikyo's. _Inuyasha could not find a buffer state from the battle waging in his head. But, then again, he wasn't sure he wanted to know how he truly felt, for him, right now, ignorance was bliss, but it was also hell.

"I can't do that to her, Kikyo," Inuyasha finally said, regret was conspicuous in his eyes.

"Inuyasha, do you remember how I was, how happy we were together, before all this happened? Before she came into our lives? "

_Of course I do,_ he thought, _That's all I've thought about since I woke up from the Goshinboku Tree. _With all these thoughts racing through his head, Inuyasha could only bring himself to respond with a nod.

"That's how I want us to be again," she said as lovingly as she could sound, looking him straight in the eyes, knowing that that line would make him melt at her feet.

With that, Kikyo leaned up and pressed her lips to Inuyasha's.

Inuyasha was surprised, to say the least. He'd been dreaming about this moment since the first time he saw her. He closed his eyes as he felt her arms swing around his neck and entangle themselves in his hair. He lifted one arm to loop around her waist and the other found the nape of her neck.

Kikyo pulled away for air and looked him in the eyes. "I need you to save me, Inuyasha." This time Inuyasha was the forward one, kissing Kikyo almost desperately. _She tastes like death and dirt, and she feels so cold, but one day, she will be how she was, _Inuyasha thought with determination.

She couldn't take it anymore, Kagome had been violated and betrayed in the worst way and she was being forced to admit the truth and her defeat. "Inuyasha!" With one last desperate cry, she slid down the tree, sobbing harder than she had in her entire life. Her best friend had just betrayed her. _Wait, when did he become my best friend? _She cried, cried so hard that she could barley breathe.

Inuyasha was the first one to pull away from the kiss this time.

"Kikyo I want to fulfill my promise to you, but I must also keep promise to Kagome, I can't let her die to give you your soul back," Inuyasha said quietly, regretfully, unsure of what her reaction would be.

"Inuyasha, just wish that Onigumo had died in that fire," she said longingly and desperately, as if it was the only choice. "I need to be alive, with you."

_That means I would never meet Kagome, but she would be safe, all my promises would be fulfilled, _he thought slowly to himself, _but do I want that? I'll be with Kikyo and Kagome can find a good human boy in her time. What was that guy's name? Hobo? Hoho? Joho? I dunno, but she thinks highly of him, I'm sure he could make her happy. Happier than a hanyou could you mean, _said a voice in his head._ No, they'll be happy and so will Kikyo and I. Problem solved. _

Then, Inuyasha thought of something, "You-you would accept me as a hanyou?" He asked, with an astonished gaze.

Disgust temporarily flashed through Kikyo's eyes, but Inuyasha didn't catch it.

"Yes," she said, lying to him as well as herself, "I was too naive to see it then, but I love you as you are."

Kikyo thought she could and would learn to love him in his hanyou form, even if she couldn't yet.

"When I'm alive again we will be happy, on our own, without worries, no Shikon no Tama, no demons constantly after it, no 'other' worries, "once again she looked at Kagome, who was in hysterics, Kikyo wasn't even sure if she was paying attention anymore. Kikyo gave Inuyasha a chaste kiss and watched as Kagome's eyes widened, and if possible, she cried harder. _Well, that answered that question. _

"You and I are destined to be together or fate wouldn't have brought us here."

"Please Inuyasha, hurry and complete that Shikon no Tama, then hold true to your oath to me. Save me."

Kagome was out of tears, she was exhausted, and pissed beyond belief, she hadn't even cried this much when her dad died, and she just wanted to go home.

"Save me Inuyasha." With that, Kikyo's Shikigami left Kagome and swirled around Kikyo, lifting her into the air and flying away.

Kagome nearly fell when the support of the Shikigami left her. She didn't even look up; she just turned and began walking away, towards the village. She still would have been crying and she wished she could, but there were no tears, all that was left were dry streaks where her salty tears had made their trails. Once red from her hysterics, her face was now paler than Kikyo's undead one.

Inuyasha heard the rustling of leaves behind him. _No, please, _he smelt Kagome, _Please, no; don't tell me she heard all that. _His head hung low, and his ears flattened as the sent of dried sweet tears bombarded his nose. He had betrayed her and he was waiting for that word, the one thing that could bring him down, to be repeated over and over again. _Kami knows I deserve it, _he admitted to himself.

The footsteps faded ever so slightly and stopped, she was about fifty feet away from him now. _Here it comes, _he thought.

But it didn't, her mouth didn't open at all. Slowly, he turned around, there she was, her back to him, her head bowed, just a bit, as thought she was trying to compose herself and keep her dignity, which she was.

"Kagome" he called in a desperate whisper, just loud enough for her to hear.

Kagome heard him call to her, but she just walked away, back to the village. She heard him call her name a few more times, but not once did she hesitate in her movements. She had just heard Inuyasha admit his feelings to Kikyo, and all but tell her that he would wish Onigumo had died, thereby negating the purpose of her ever being there. _He would throw me away to have Kikyo. How could he do that? Not only is she dead, but also she has tried to kill him on more than one occasion! Maybe, I just don't understand their love, or, rather, his love for her, Kikyo's just using him. Then again, I don't even understand my love for that chauvinistic jerk, how could I possibly understand his for her? _

Kagome took a deep shaky breath and continued her march back towards the village, not once looking back to see if Inuyasha was following her. Had she given into the temptation to glance behind her, she would have been disappointed, for Inuyasha wasn't there.

Inuyasha didn't go back to the village that night. He wandered around the cold, lonely forest, lost in thought.

One question repeating over and over again in his mind.

"How much did she see?"

Inuyasha was in pain, more pain than any amount of "oswari's" could bring. He wished she had said it, he would have felt better if she had.

Inuyasha's face showed pain, but determination.

_I need to tell her that I do care about her, but I have a promise to keep._

With that thought, Inuyasha nodded his head in finality and bounded deeper into the forest.

OK, so this chapter wasn't any shorter, there wasn't really a good breaking point. However, form now on there will be. Let me know what you think

**REVIEW!**


	2. A Long Night

BTW I really, really, really like reviews, it made me feel all happy when I saw people were reading my fic, YAY. So, please review and tell me what ya think!

::SilverWaters walks in and plops on the couch:: I am so tired. I didn't get any sleep last night ::Inuyasha trudges in and passes out on the floor:: yeah, umm, he didn't get any sleep last night either.

::Golden Skies:: Damn fiends.

::Sesshomaru's snores can be heard from down the hall::

::SilverWaters:: Well, ïƒ˜ïƒ˜, apparently Sess-chan didn't get much sleep either. Hmm, I wonder why?

::Golden Skies blushes:: I have no idea what your taking about.

::SilverWaters gives Golden Skies a sly look:: Mmm Hmm. Right.

::Golden Skies:: Hey, he just can't handle this

::Kouga jumps in and grabs SilverWaters and throws her over his shoulder:: I have come to claim a mate. This is my woman now!

::Inuyasha wakes up and goes into a fighting stance::

::Golden Skies:: Why the hell did you chose her? We all know I'm better!

::Inuyasha:: Grrrr.... Kouga, put her down. That is my mate.

::SilverWaters blushes and turns to Sky:: Well, Sky-chan, I guess Kouga just knows quality when he sees it.

::Golden skies coughs:: desperate ::she coughs again::

::Kouga drops SilverWaters and turns to Sky::

::SilverWaters:: Oomff! Hey! ::Inuyasha runs to Silver's side::

::Kouga grabs Golden Skies:: Fine, then I will just take her instead.

::SilverWaters:: ïƒ˜ïƒ˜;

::Golden Skies:: Yeah right man, you wish you could have a piece of this.

::Sesshoumaru groggily makes his way to the door:: What the hell are you doing wolf-boy?

::Kouga turns to him:: I'm taking my mate home.

::Golden Skies:: Like hell you are! ::Golden Skies punches Kouga, he falls to the ground and Sesshoumaru grabs Sky's waist before she lands on to p of Kouga::

::Sesshoumaru looks at the unconscious wolf youkai on the floor and smirks at Golden Skies:: That's my blood in you.

::Golden Skies blushes::

::A thought suddenly strike SilverWaters:: Hey, Inuyasha? Did you mean it when you called me your mate?

::Inuyasha blushes:: Keh... your mine now.

::SilverWaters:: Aww. I love you. ::Glomp::

::Inuyasha:: ; heh...

::Golden Skies:: Okay, enough with the melodramatics. ::Pushes Inu and Silver into Inu's room::

::Golden Skies:: Sess, ya wanna get some food?

::Sess winks:: How about some Chinese food...order-in?

::Golden Skies:: alright!

And now for the story...

**Trials and Tribulations of Love**

**Chapter 2**

**A Long Night**

By: Golden Skies

Kagome, though everything in her screamed to run home and never come back, didn't run away. Instead, she stayed to face her fears. Well not exactly. Instead, she avoided Inuyasha. As far as she knew, he only felt her presence after Kikyo left. He probably thought she had just happened to stumble across the end of their conversation, and she wasn't sure if she could bring herself to tell him otherwise.

For Sango, Miroku, and Shippo, the last week had been very unusual. Not once had Inuyasha told them they had to go hunt for shards, not once had Kagome threatened to go home, not once had Kagome "sat" Inuyasha, and not once had they even spoke to each other.

Miroku and Sango noticed the way Inuyasha would toss Kagome unsure looks. It was hard to tell what his facial expressions were saying, and when they tried to decipher the hieroglyphics that made up Inuyasha's golden orbs, they were left wanting. It almost looked as though he wanted to say something, to ask a question, but he couldn't figure out if he really wanted to, let alone how to do it.

They all saw how Kagome would be fine until she saw him, and then she would flare with anger and hurt before she turned her gaze to the ground and went off to do something else. But, she wouldn't let anyone into the steel fortress that held her emotions.

After the first few days of this, they began to miss the arguing. They all knew how much Kagome cared for Inuyasha, and they also knew that, in his own way, Inuyasha cared for her too. Nobody knew what had happened that night, nearly a week ago.

:: Flashback ::

"When's Kagome coming back? She's been gone for hours," whined the kitsune cub. Miroku and Sango exchanged worried glances. Kagome had left nearly three hours ago, and Inuyasha had left to find her about an hour ago, after he smelt Kikyo.

"I hope everything is okay," commented Sango, hoping Miroku would get what she was aiming at.

"I'm sure it's nothing Inuyasha can't handle," said Miroku, rather unconvincingly. The truth was, he knew how much Inuyasha still loved Kikyo, and him running right into an argument between her and Kagome, was the one situation that Inuyasha never failed to handle the wrong way.

Outside of the hut, the sky began to get dark, not from the night, but from the gloomy clouds that had slowly began to creep their way over the village. Over the next five minutes the wind picked up and with a loud crash of thunder, the rain began to fall.

Everybody in the hut was scared, Kagome and Inuyasha weren't back yet, and from the looks of it, this was going to be a bad storm. Kadae wasn't even there to comfort them; she was on the other side of the small village tending to a sick mother, who had just given birth.

For the last half an hour, the hut had been silent; the only noise to be heard was the shaking of the hut's boards under the long spells of thunder. Occasionally Shippo and Sango "eeped" when lightning flashed a little too close for comfort.

The door swung open, just as Miroku's hand was about to touch Sango's thigh, and there stood Kagome. Miroku's hand dropped back to where it belonged after he saw the look on her face. Her head was held high, and the expression she wore was as if she hadn't noticed she'd been walking in the worst storm of the year for the past forty-five minutes.

Sango immediately ran to her friend. "Kagome!" she screamed, happy that on the surface she appeared to be fine, other than the fact she was shivering uncontrollably. Sango was about to ask her if she was okay, then she looked into her eyes. Sango would never forget that look, that detached look; it seemed as though Kagome had become so lost in her feelings of confused anger and betrayal that she wasn't completely in the real world.

Sango wanted to ask her what happened, but was cut off when Shippo bounded past her and into Kagome's arms, seemingly snapping her out of a trance-like state. The rest of the night was spent warming Kagome up and waiting for Inuyasha to come back, all in an awkward silence.

Inuyasha didn't come back until noon the next day.

"Is Kagome okay?" he asked the monk worriedly in a hushed voice.

"Kagome –sama will be fine, I think," said Miroku, not sure whether Inuyasha was talking about her being out in the rain last night, or the events that happened prior to that; he was assuming the later. Miroku hoped she would be fine, but he still had no clue what had happened, so he could only pray that Kagome would be able to recover from whatever blow she had been dealt.

"Inuyasha, what happened last night?" Miroku questioned anxiously, letting his curiosity and worry get the best of him.

"Oh, umm, I found shelter in a cave," he replied hurriedly before walking away. They both knew that's not what Miroku meant, but he wasn't about to push it.

:: End Flashback ::

The sky had been gloomy since that day, the sun refusing to show. It was almost foreboding as if it was trying it say that this as not over. Unfortunately, bad weather meant everybody stayed in the hut all day, allowing them all to dwell on how much they wanted things to be the way they were.

So I'm thinking that this might be too short, what do you guys think? Please review....


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